about the author : ̗̀➛ hi i'm zoey, they/she! i write mostly fantasy or regional gothic and my favorite author is catherynne m. valente; i usually write as a hobby but hope to go further with it someday. i love making new friends and interacting with artists of all mediums, shapes, and sizes on tumblr so please shoot a follow and check out the wip, thanks! <3
about the blog : ̗̀➛ i reblog original art, wips, writing funnies, etc. i post snippets and other content of my own wip pretty willy-nilly
about the wip : ̗̀➛ chalk mountain [intro / tag] is about a girl named Dixie Alvarez who sets off to find her missing mother and brother; but her story takes a sharp left turn when she meets Emilio Baku in a small town in Texas, who teaches her of her true destiny. (status: revisiting third draft // genre: fantasy)
wip themes : ̗̀➛ family trauma, prophesies, found family, hidden civilizations, swearing, soft regional gothic, "magical" abilities, minor drug use, + more
ads these days are so sensitive to being tapped like darling my fingers barely brushed you and youre already opening yourself for me... well close those damn legs. dont make me get the taser
✧ Women who are competitive with each other but it's not catty or about a guy. They're both trying to win the same research grant. They're rival chefs. They're competing for department head. It's professional, it's intense, and they grab drinks after because they're adults.
✧ The "mom friend" who's actually a hot mess in her own life. She's got everyone else's problems solved, therapy-speaking her friends through breakups, but her own apartment? PURE DISASTER. Her love life? CATASTROPHIC. Her sleep schedule? WHAT SCHEDULE????!
✧ Female friendships that survive one of them getting into a relationship. Groundbreaking, I know. Her boyfriend isn't threatened. She doesn't disappear. They still have brunch. Novel concept.
✧ Women who are mentors but not in a "wise old crone" way. She's 32, she's tired, she didn't sign up to be a mentor but here's this younger woman asking questions and dammit, fine, she'll help.
✧ Best friends who don't agree on everything and that's okay. One's a vegetarian, one works at a steakhouse. One wants kids, one doesn't. They're not trying to convert each other, they're just vibing with their differences.
✧ Female characters who are allowed to be mediocre at "feminine" skills. She can't braid hair. Her baking is questionable. She's been wearing the same makeup look since 2015 because she figured it out once and she's not experimenting.
✧ Women supporting other women in weird specific ways. Not just "yas queen." Like, "I'll create a distraction while you steal your ex's Netflix password back" support. "I'll pretend to be your fake reference for this job" energy.
✧ Older woman and younger woman friendships that aren't maternal. They just... like each other? They met at a concert. They bond over niche interests. Age gap but make it friendship, not a lesson.
No pressure tagging: @rickie-the-storyteller @forthesanityofstorytellers @akiwitch @hellfyri @the-orangeauthor @unmellowyellowfellow & my open tag!
Rules: list snippets from 7 different scenes of your story and tag 7 people!
Snippets from Ch. 8-14 of my queer superhero story.
1.
“What you are?” she repeats.
Before I can figure out the right word, Nia picks one for me. “Powerful. That’s all you are right now. The rest is up to you.” She glances at Manuela. “But you’ll never be safe here.”
Manuela goes still. “The people after you.”
Nia nods. “And others. Power is never an easy thing to hide.”
Wide-eyed, Manuela searches my face. Maybe she’s looking for answers. Maybe she’s just looking for someone to blame. She doesn’t seem satisfied with either. She brushes a hand over Anny’s hair. “Can you keep her safe?”
2.
Roldan manages to flip her over his head and onto her back just as I run and grab him round the middle, just enough weight to topple him out of the driver’s seat with a *crack*. I don’t try to pretend I don’t like seeing a bit of fear in him now. “Are you trying to get us killed?”
“No.” We go crashing onto the ground and atop his chest, I feel new power in my limbs. “I’m trying to save us.”
3.
He searches my expression and I mentally dare him to say anything that threatens her well-being. “Anny,” he repeats. “Surely the Embassy would help you with that.”
I liked him better when he was angry. “Would you please just leave me alone? You won, okay? You’re already stealing Nia to the United States. Forgive me if I don’t want you to drag me and Anny along, too. We just want to go home.”
4.
“This isn’t a trap, is it?”
Roldan glances back at me and, there, just a hint of that first smile. “What would it be a trap for? It’s not like you’ve been sneaking into countries or anything.”
I let out a huff of a laugh and his eyes light up to match. “What?” I ask.
“Nothing. C’mon.”
5.
“Maybe they’re just scared. Scared of the unknown. The different.”
I didn’t get to see an emotional side of Delian very often. Even around just me, he kept on his professional mask of calm. “You haven’t seen the villages they’ve burned to the ground, Kuxtal. Or the children they’ve kidnapped. No matter how scared you are of the powers, no amount of faith can make up for things like that.”
I just nodded, but I couldn’t help but wonder if you could make up for things you couldn’t remember.
And if so, if I had anything so bad it wouldn’t even matter.
6.
Someone sits down beside me at the bar. I know immediately who it is.
I tell myself it’s just because there’s only a few people who would directly at my side when every seat is open-- and I know where the other three are-- but it’s a feeble facade. Delian and I spoke a different language for three years. It’s not something easy to unlearn. “I don’t want to talk.”
He hums, adding sugar to his coffee in tiny spoonfuls. “Asking a translator not to talk. That’s like asking a healer not to help.”
My head whips up to find him already looking at me, eyes begging for the challenge behind his glasses. “You would know.”
7.
“You never mentioned anything about being an Extraordinaire.”
Immediately, a knot burns through my ribcage, like that’s going to do anything. What would I do? Heal my enemies?
I just… I *hate* that word. I’ve hated it since realizing it was in fact what I was, apparently declaring me something magical and other. And I knew he knew, but to know…
“I’m…”
“It’s always made sense. Ordinary people don’t just show up and change your life, do they?”
*Yes*, I want to tell him. *They do*. But then I look at him and Delian seems anything about ordinary.
thanks for the tag, @leahnardo-da-veggie! glad to see you back, and hell yeah for learning norwegian!! learning languages is hard (rest in peace, my duolingo owl) so kudos to you, friendo!!
this snippet comes from afterlight recovery services, because despite me working on tea leaves and dead lies today, i can't stop thinking about my ghost hunting zombie crew.
Three zombies settle in the fridge. Two crouch on the ground; the other stands listlessly, staring at the ground. They slowly lift their heads as the door opens, staring at the crew.
The crew stares back.
Silence.
After several long seconds, Live leans forward and whispers, “This is freaky, right? It’s not just me?”
The target, a middle aged man in the tattered remains of a suit, lets out a low gurgling sound deep in his throat. The other two zombies let out guttural groans, sounding like a macabre choir, and the sitting zombies push themselves to her feet.
“Ah,” says Live, lifting his bat again. “There we go.”
tagging ;; @starboard-writes - @rickie-the-storyteller - @winterandwords - @theflowingriver - and anyone who wants to take part! no pressure, of course <3
I am at a place where I'm not going to try to lie or cover up the fact that 2025 was a hard year. Like I told one of my friends, this year kinda sucked. And he laughed and said, yeah, yeah, it kinda did.
But that doesn't mean there weren't good things. And that doesn't mean I'm not going to celebrate every good thing that happened.
I opened the new year giggling and staying up late with my brother. WE GOT SEVEN INCHES OF SNOW THAT STAYED FOR A WHOLE WEEK! I played in the snow with my dog and little brother and we built a snowman in the middle of the night. I finalized my first poetry collection complete with illustrations by one of my best friends. I wrote lyrics for a song I am actually very proud of about the world. I SAW MY VERY FIRST BALLET and it was beautiful! One of my best friends came to visit! A friend took graduation pictures for me and my little brother. Finally talked my brother into watching The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Treasure Planet. I made cinnamon crunch scones. I went to my first work conference and worked my ass off but also had fun. My best friend and practically little sister flew down for graduation season!! MY LITTLE BROTHER GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL! My best friend and I choreographed dances and sang karaoke and put together a brand new Taylor Swift medley just like we did when we were kids. <2 I got to go back to my college town and show it off to my family and best friend. I GRADUATED WITH ALL MY FRIENDS! I went to my major's graduation party and said goodbye to my wonderful professors. I threw a little graduation party of my own and invited everyone to come over and have snacks and sign a yearbook I made for myself. I PUBLISHED MY FIRST POETRY BOOK! I went to my friend's wedding. I ran a STEAM Camp at work. I spent the 4th of July watching Hamilton with my brother and my dog. I helped complete my brother's first DnD campaign and made stickers out of the silly things they said. I got a Dropout subscription. I reconnected with a girl from high school who moved away and I love so freaking much. I actually started drawing again a little. I started going to the public library. I shared my trauma play with a friend and he had the best notes. My brother started college. I commissioned art of my characters for the first time. I cut off about 6 inches of hair. I got back on pointe. I visited two of my best friends and had such a calm, quiet two weeks. I went to my brother's first fencing competition. I perfected my at home taco recipe. I MADE GELATO. I wore a gorgeous dress, went out for Thai food, and had a very simple but loving birthday. I started going to therapy. I created an amazing Halloween costume-- including making my own mask (I was Kevin from Up.) I saw a local play my friends were in. I went on another work trip and had an amazing time in the city with my mom. I got to see some cousins I haven't seen in a decade. My brother finally got into Stranger Things, just in time to watch Season 5 with me. I had the loveliest Thanksgiving. My whole family went to see Wicked: For Good in theaters. I drove down to the beach to see a friend and her family. I had a shopping day out with my Nanny. I made gingerbread cookies! Two of my friends sent me the sweetest Christmas gift. I sent out holiday postcards. I had a really great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family and grandparents. My brother and I both got each other Arcane gifts. I will end the year watching the Stranger Things finale with my little brother and the knowledge that I will be texting my friends about it immediately after. We will stay up as long as we like, giggling into the night.
I danced when I had the energy to and and tried to give myself grace when I didn't. I wrote a lot of poetry. I met my reading goal of 100 books for the first time in 5 years. I called my friends more than I ever would've felt comfortable doing in the past and I'm getting better at reaching out. I got into new music and new musicals. I loved the same things I always have and I fell in love with new things, too.
The hard days were lonely and the lonely days were long, but I worked hard to make this year be different. I am not alone. And just because things are hard, just because some things are bad, does not mean that the good was not there. That the love was not there.
I will sign off as I did in my letters to my friends, adding in a message from my friend: We have made it through this year together! May 2026 be gentle and soft and full of good things! Here's to a better year for all of us! We're gonna be okay and listen to a lot of good music and make a lot of cool things! And no matter what, we're gonna do it together.
Target Audience: PG-13 YA and up (more mature themes and content than book 1)
Tags: Still using #unfathomable wip as a general tag for the whole series in progress.
Progress: As of April 2026, I have six chapters drafted and the rest of the story fully outlined!
Synopsis, setting, themes & tropes, and more below the cut. Synopsis contains minor spoilers for Unfathomable.
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Synopsis
One year after the conclusion of their first deep sea adventure, Marlo and his friends are happily settled in to their new routines operating the independent courier business they all started together. But that routine is abruptly shattered when one day, while docked back home in Brightvein for a quick visit, they stumble across a mysterious dead body…in their own sub.
Accusations and speculation abound. Marlo’s family is under threat. And it looks like he won’t be going on any more peaceful trade runs anytime soon, because it’s up to him to solve the mystery and save his family before time runs out.
Thankfully, he has the support of his friends by his side, not to mention a few new faces lending aid along the way. But Marlo and his crew will need all the help they can get, because this journey will take them further than they’ve ever gone before…and put them directly in the path of old secrets and diabolical schemes they’ve never been more unprepared to face.
Setting
Like Unfathomable before it, this sequel takes place in an exclusively underwater deep-sea environment inspired heavily by the Subnautica video game series and the Ethersea season of the Adventure Zone podcast, combining fantasy elements, sci-fi elements, and a little bit of inspired-by-real-life ocean stuff.
Themes, Tropes & More
Underwater murder mystery!
Ace/aroace leading characters
More focus on friendship and platonic love than romance
An overall darker tone and different type of resolution than the first book
Spooky laboratories and unethical experiments
Family drama
Recurring characters
New characters
Deep-sea cults
More leviathans…
Cast of Characters
You can read about the original cast of characters and see my character lineup art in my intro post for the first book, Unfathomable, linked here! Unquenchable is the second book in this series.
— 🌊 —
I’ve never done a taglist before, but if you’d like to be tagged in update posts related to this project, let me know and I’ll go from there! I am hoping to share this book with beta readers like I did for the first book, so I will tag anyone interested in the project once the time comes.
Since this is a new WIP announcement, I’ll tag a bunch of Writeblr friends just to get the word out. If you see this post, please take this as an opportunity to introduce your own WIP and/or share a WIP update! (And tag me so I can see it.)
